We need a more grown-up conversation about the menopause

SOCIETY takes a keen interest in women’s bodies, especially during their fertile years. Yet when the menopause comes around, the conversation goes quiet. Aside from trivial quips about hot flushes and “the change”, menopause remains taboo.

This isn’t simply men skirting around the issue. A recent survey found that half of UK women go through the menopause without consulting a doctor. Why? Over a third of them believed it was something they just had to put up with. If women suffer in silence, it’s unsurprising that many are blindsided by the severity of their symptoms, especially problems with memory and concentration.

Rather than being depressing news, the findings should lead to menopause and its attendant health problems being taken more seriously. They may even be a cue for more grown-up conversations about a phase of life that affects us all, one way or another.